NATIONAL BRIEFING | PLAINS; Nebraska: Workers Die In Collapse

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: September 13, 2008

Officials in northeastern Nebraska say four construction workers on a roadway project died in a collapsed trench after one of them fell in and his co-workers tried to rescue him. The Knox County Sheriff's Office said the four men were working on the drainage trench near Verdel when part of it collapsed. Officials said Travis Lunn, 24, fell into the collapsing trench, and the three others tried to rescue him but also became trapped. The road near the trench had been damaged by flooding from high Missouri River water levels. Sheriff's officials said water appeared to be seeping into the trench at the site of the collapse. Verdel is just south of the South Dakota line.